Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I address my question to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister confirm that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship just last week established a regional displaced persons task force which has two months to come up with what they describe as ‘ideas on what kind of policies may be effective in stemming irregular migration’? Why was this task force not established before the government decided to soften the coalition’s border protection regime in August 2008?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all love questions from the good old member for Murray because the honourable member asks questions about internal government processes to look at how to deal with the challenges of migration policy across the spectrum and specifically refugee policies, asylum seeker policies and outflows from within the region and beyond the region in particular.

This government has had a range of policy mechanisms within government at work on this since we assumed office nearly two years ago. What has changed in that period of time is that we have had since 2005 a range of new push factors from major source countries like Sri Lanka, Iraq and Afghanistan. As I said to those opposite when I recently ran through these figures, if in the last three years you have seen the numbers of asylum seekers from Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka go through the roof by between 50, 100, 150 or almost 200 per cent then all countries around the world are going to feel those push factors. We in Australia are no different.

The member for Murray then implies within her question what sorts of responses will be developed by internal mechanisms within the government. One of those mechanisms concerns the proper use of the humanitarian agencies like the UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration, who are working with our government and the Indonesian government on the ground in Indonesia, as they have done for many years. The UNHCR is the organisation which the good old member for Murray says we should be doing more with as well. In fact, she said this morning, ‘Surely the UNHCR can be engaged directly to work with these people whether they are on board or not.’ This is the same member for Murray who said earlier this month that the UNHCR was ‘corrupt’. She said:

… it in fact costs you more to bribe the UNHCR to look at your case and assess you for your asylum-seeking status than to pay a people-smuggler.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order: under the standing orders with respect to relevance, the member for Murray asked a question quite specifically about arrangements within the department. This rant against the member for Murray is not relevant.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on the point of order: once again, similar to the member for Farrer, the member for Sturt attempted to use a point of order to make commentary on the Prime Minister’s response. That is—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will resume his seat.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Baldwin interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Paterson will withdraw.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wasn’t speaking to you, Mr Speaker.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Even on that occasion, if it was being referred to your colleague behind you, I think it was unparliamentary.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Were you offended?

Barry Haase (Kalgoorlie, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He has not taken offence.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On this occasion, I have. The member for Paterson will withdraw

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you were offended, Mr Speaker, I withdraw.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Under the standing orders, I am obliged to decide what information I require to decide points of order. On this occasion, I am satisfied that the Manager of Opposition Business returned to his seat at the appropriate time. I remind members that the question was multifaceted. On reflection, they would understand that this allows the answer to be relevant to those elements of multifacetism—or whatever the word is! That may have been Bosnian!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, thank you for that multidimensional answer! I responded to the honourable member’s question, which went to internal government processes in response to push factors around the world over a period of time, when they are established, and therefore their response to given developments over time. The content of my answer was that, since the government have been in for two years, we have had a range of internal mechanisms within the government that serve cabinet committees, that are internal to the bureaucracy, as you would expect, and that deal with a multiplicity of these challenges which come from time to time. That is the normal business of government. Part of the response, of course, which has been developed by officials, is what we should do over time to enhance our cooperation with the UNHCR and the IOM.

I was simply drawing the honourable member for Murray’s attention to the fact that, less than a month ago, in response to the question: ‘So you’re alleging corruption within the UNHCR?’ she said on the record, ‘Yes, I’m saying to you it’s a well-known fact that in some UNHCR offices there is bribery and corruption.’ Can I just say, if you are seeking to represent an alternative government of Australia and you are seeking to deal with international agencies cooperatively, that is probably not the best first thing to say. If you want to get on with them and you go out there and say, ‘You’re just all corrupt,’ I think that is not actually a good way to go.

Our response deals with the global factors which go to the push factors, the transit countries and, of course, countries of ultimate destination, and in dealing with this we are also dealing with the international agencies who are working with all of these countries on a continuing basis. The critical one is the UNHCR. When it comes to that which the member for Berowra dare not speak of—alternative policy—I simply pose the question to those opposite: how can you have an alternative policy if you think one of the principal agencies is corrupt and therefore cannot be worked with?